Will Catholics Be ‘Left Behind’?
Overview
Carl Olson grew up with many misconceptions about the “end times.” This study is a thorough critique of the popular notion of the “Rapture”—the belief that Christians will be removed from earth prior to a time of Tribulation and the Second Coming. It examines the theological, historical, and biblical basis for “premillennial dispensationalism,” the belief system based around the Rapture, and popularized in the best-selling Left Behind books.
Top Highlights
“Ryrie argues for what he calls ‘literal’ interpretation, by which he means an interpretation that ‘gives to every word the same meaning it would have in normal usage, whether employed in writing, speaking, or thinking.” (Page 25)
“In breaking away from the Anglican Church and forming his own mistaken doctrines, Darby was merely following the centuries-old tradition of separatist sects such as the Montanists and the Anabaptists, which could find good only in themselves and their exclusive teachings. He also was following the general pattern of such men as Martin Luther and John Calvin, who in the 16th century declared themselves final arbiters about the meaning of Scripture and Tradition. The culmination of this attitude can be seen in this telling statement by Ryrie in Dispensationalism Today: ‘The fact that the church taught something in the first century does not make it true, and likewise if the church did not teach something until the twentieth century, it is not necessarily false.’” (Page 17)
“Catholics believe the Church must be visible and active in the world in order for its unity to be seen by humanity. Men and women, who are both physical and spiritual in nature, are called to enter the Catholic Church—which is earthly and sinful, heavenly and holy. The Church is at one and the same time a pilgrim Church in exile on earth, and also the heavenly spotless bride of the spotless Lamb.” (Page 17)
“He began to teach that the ‘true’ church would need to be removed from the earth in order to make way for the completion of God’s dealings with the Jews. He referred to this secret removal of true believers as the ‘Rapture.’ No previous Christian—Catholic or Protestant—ever had proposed such a teaching.” (Page 13)
- Title: Will Catholics Be ‘Left Behind’?
- Author: Carl E. Olson
- Series: Catholic Scripture Study
- Publisher: Catholic Scripture Study International
- Print Publication Date: 2007
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Catholic Church › Doctrines; Rapture (Christian eschatology); End of the world; Eschatology
- Resource ID: LLS:CSSCATHLFTBHND
- Resource Type: text.monograph.study-guide
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:31:37Z